Another Texas migrant aid group asks a judge to push back on investigation by Republican AG

Source: Associated Press

Another Texas migrant aid group asks a judge to push back on investigation by Republican AG

BY VALERIE GONZALEZ
Updated 5:05 PM EDT, July 17, 2024

EDINBURG, Texas (AP) — A prominent aid group along the U.S.-Mexico border asked a Texas judge on Wednesday to push back on a widening Republican-led investigation into nonprofits that help migrants, weeks after a separate court rejected efforts by the state to shutter an El Paso shelter.

Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley provides temporary shelter and food to as many as 2,000 migrants a day when border crossings are high. In recent months, the nonprofit and at least three others in Texas that help migrants have come under scrutiny from state officials following a directive from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who has aggressively pushed boundaries in his efforts to curb illegal crossings.

Without citing evidence, Abbott in 2022 alleged that some border nonprofits may be acting “unlawfully,” including by helping migrants enter the U.S. illegally. Leaders of Catholic Charities have denied the accusations and say the state has presented nothing to back up the claims.

During a hearing Wednesday in Edinburg, state District Judge J.R. Flores said he would rule as early as next week whether the state can depose a member of Catholic Charities, which is fighting to block the deposition and says it has already turned over more than 100 pages of documents to state investigators.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/texas-immigration-catholic-charities-3b2200f99ff62f88fdfb2c83d651047b